


Painted Bullets

by SliverofMist



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Abuse, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Characters from FunHaus and Rooster Teeth, Child Abandonment, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Language, F/M, FAHC, Fake AH Crew, FakeHaus, Falling In Love, Family Feels, Fatherhood, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Gun Violence, If i missed a Warning or Tag let me know in the comments and i will fix, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, More Characters and Relationships than listed above, No Smut, Past Abuse, Past Violence, Physical Abuse, RT Crew, Ryan acting like a Dad, Sexual Violence, Torture, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:08:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SliverofMist/pseuds/SliverofMist
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple mission...Something Ryan had done many times before...But fate lead him into that basement to find her...What Ryan found left him stunned and speechless, something that has rarely ever happened to him. A small girl locked in a cage, broken and abused. Ryan felt rage to the gang that did that and sympathy and pity towards the girl in front of him. Later when ask, he would say that he had a lapse of judgment and his emotions took over for a second at what he did next for the girl. Ryan’s head went into over drive as he stared at the girl. Afraid that if he turned away that she would die, he decided to save the girl at all costs.This is a story where Ryan saves a girl and teaches her the ways of the Vagabond as if she were his own daughter.The Fake AH Crew might be the most ruthless and powerful crew in all of Achievement City, but they all still have a heart, even if its stained black.***The characters of this story have very dark back stories and the story itself have dark moments. Be careful as you read.***
Relationships: Jack Pattillo/Geoff Ramsey, Lindsay Tuggey Jones/Michael Jones, Matt Bragg/Fiona Nova, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Trevor Collins/Barbara Dunkelman
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story touches on the effects of PTSD and Depression. Never should any mental conditions of any kind be taken lightly. I am here to give people an enjoyable read and not to offend anyone. If anyone suffers from PTSD, Depression, or any other mental illness I ask of you to seek out help. No one should be alone when they feel such negative emotions. Someone somewhere will always be there for you when you need it most, you just have to grab their hand or shout out their name.
> 
> For everyone else that wants a story like this, THANK YOU for taking the chance to read my work! Please enjoy and leave a comment.

Chapter 1

Houses are deceiving. If you cut your grass short, trim your bushes square, and never make loud noises to alert your neighbors, then even a serial killer could live in the richest and safest of neighborhoods. One such deceiving house resided in one of the many suburbs around Achievement City. The two-story, cookie cutter house was a replica to all the other homes around it. The freshly painted white exterior with blue stutters hid the inside well from the outside world. The inside of that house makes it different then all the rest. That house was the home to a ruthless and wealthy gang, Torres.

The Torres gang was small time and had become even smaller in recent years after the death of their old leader. Bad management and bad principles made this gang unlike by many in the city. This gang only had one asset that made them noteworthy in the big city and that was their forger that lived in the basement.

Paintings, personal IDs, and certificates of any kind were forged by one talented individual who the whole city called Echo. If you needed a forgery that even the government couldn’t tell the authenticity of, you went through the Torres gang and their Echo. Sadly, all that money went to their heads and now they have pissed off the wrong people…

The Fake AH Crew…

And no one makes the Fakes angry and lives to tell the tale.

***

Geoff Ramsey slammed his phone onto the ringer on his desk. Being the Kingpin of the largest crime syndicate of Achievement City, gives him many different types of phone calls and meetings, but he had enough of them for the day. Geoff rubbed his hands around his tattoo arms before shaking his short shaggy brown hair around on his head. He looked out the large bay windows across the room. Geoff glazed out at the city as the setting sun washed the city in array of colors. He used one hand to smooth out his long and curly mustache; he was lost in thought before someone entered the room.

“I sense that your phone call did not go well,” said Jack Pattillo as she entered the room without knocking.

“That’s the understatement of the century,” exclaimed Geoff.

Geoff took a moment to look at his best friend and life partner Jack Pattillo. Jack was not the skinniest or the fattest, some good middle ground that Geoff found to be perfect. Jack had ginger hair pulled back away from her feminine face. Geoff noted that she was wearing another god awful Hawaiian shirt with short jeans shorts. He never understood the woman’s obsession with Hawaii, but accepted that was who she was.

“Come now, it could not have been that bad,” soothed Jack as she came over to stand behind Geoff. She rubbed his shoulders as Geoff leaned more into his desk.

“It was, we need those Military IDs to get the tank out of the base,” said Geoff with a grunt. “Gavin and I’s plan for the bank heist in a few months relies on a huge distraction, and the only thing larger than a tank is… well, I don’t know… that’s why it needs to be the tank!”

“Calm down and relax,” soothed Jack, who was still rubbing out the knots in Geoff’s neck. “We can always find another forger, I know Echo is good, but there are others–”

“No!” exclaimed Geoff as he slammed his fist down on the desk. Jack didn’t even bat an eye at the man’s antics. “I have had enough of that small time Torres gang. We’re not the only ones that wannabe hot shot of a kid leader has angered. I say, we have given them enough excuses. I want to meet this Echo, once and for all.”

Jack sighed and shook her head, but didn’t say anything to rebuttal Geoff. Jack has learned over the years that once Geoff makes up his mind, it would take an asteroid hitting him upside the head for him to even consider a different option. Jack only placed a warm smile on her face as she started to make mental lists of what needed to be done, so that Geoff’s wishes could be achieve feasibly.

“Hey, Geoff!” came the call of Gavin Free as he barged into Geoff’s office. He walked in while staring down at papers he was holding. “I located their base, like you asked. It wasn’t that hard at all. I asked the B-Team to follow their crew around on video cams and street cams and cross check where others were headin’ to make sure and then me and Michael check the place out today and to confirm…” At that point, Gavin looked up to find Geoff and Jack jumped apart from each other with red guilty faces. “Um, sorry, did I interrupt somethin’…again?”

Geoff and Jack have known each other for almost ten years, but only with in the past year gotten together. It took a lot of effort on their friends’ side and Geoff finally growing a pair to tell Jack how he felt. Jack was always shy and self-conscious, so would show her love for Geoff, but never took the next step. When the two came together finally, everyone gave the two love birds space, but was happy that Geoff and Jack were happy. That didn’t mean that the two still weren’t super shy in showing their love around the others yet.

“No, uh, come in and tell me again what I asked of you,” said Geoff after clearing his throat.

Geoff looked at the British man in front of him. Scrawny and lanky were the best terms Geoff could describe Gavin with. Geoff noted that Gavin had his Gold sunglasses perched on his ridiculously large nose with his brown bangs sat over top of them. How Gavin could see anything indoors with them on was beyond Geoff, but the shades made Gavin happy. So, Geoff and the others for that matter don’t comment on them as much. Besides, Geoff could think of a million insults for Gavin’s nose, body shape, and clothes to tease him with. Gavin looked between the two before shaking his head and explained again what he had found.

“The Torres gang,” began Gavin. “You came to me a couple of days ago to find them? Because you are getting sick of their attitude and something or another? Well, I found them…or B-Team and I, found them. Then went with Michael to confirm, today. We just got back. The place doesn’t look out of the ordinary, but Michael said that for a suburb home, there were too many cars and way too quiet for it not to be the gang. I printed out the photos, address, and other stuff that may be useful. Here, my job’s done, me and Michael are going to pick up Jeremy for a Lads night. Going to the Pub to get bevs and wot not. See ya!”

Gavin laid down the papers on Geoff’s desk before giving the two leaders a cheeky grin and walking out. Geoff let out a sigh and sat back down in his chair. Jack went around the desk and picked up the papers to read as she sat down in the chair opposite of Geoff’s.

“Why do I get a headache every time Gavin opens his big mouth?” asked Geoff as he rubbed the side of his face where his temples were.

“Because you love that thief as a son and no matter how much he annoys you, you don’t want to get rid of him,” said Jack as she skimmed over the papers.

“Why do you have to be always right?” grunted Geoff as he slid his head down to his desk.

“Because you love me,” said Jack warmly as she stared lovingly at Geoff who lifted his head up at the words. “And because I am always right.” Geoff grunted again as Jack laughed at Geoff’s mood.

“Now, all seriousness,” said Geoff as stared at Jack. “I do love you and all that you have done and do for me, so tell me I am a bone head for thinking about this. Tell me I’m wrong for even considering this.”

“Geoff, I love you as well,” said Jack warmly. “But, we both know that I will tell you when you are being an ass, or about to make a mistake. However, even in the past I have been wrong in saying such things to you, case in point Vagabond, but I don’t think going up against the Torres gang and talking to Echo is one of those gray areas that some of your ideas have spawned from. If you think we need to do this and you want to do this, then we will all back you and get this done.”

“Thanks, Jack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU!
> 
> I hope you are enjoying the story. This is my first time posting a story for the world to see and I hope that if you made it this far that you would leave a comment to let me know what you thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Now, tell them, what you told me,” said Ryan in his Vagabond emotionless voice.

“Uh…Ev-ev-everyone…we are now under…n-n-new m-m-m-management,” said the plump manager of the local chicken fast food joint, trying to make his voice loud enough for his employees to hear. “Th-this fine man here…is our new b-boss.”

Ryan stood behind the shaking man with a knife to his back as a grin creeped on to his face, yet no one could see it behind his mask. As the manager spoke, Ryan’s thoughts drifted down at the short fat man who now had cuts and bruises to match the manager’s pompous attitude. 

The manager in question, as Ryan skillfully found out, was named Harris. Harris was the general manger for several chicken fast food locations around the Achievement City. He did his job well and kept mostly out of the criminal world around him in the city, which changed a few days ago. Jack came by to order some chicken for the crew and actually paid for it. As she was waiting, the Harris decided to call the cops on her. Jack, the badass that she was, quickly discovered the betrayal and escaped in time before the cops showed up.

Geoff was not pleased in the slightest at what happen and order retribution. Jack didn’t think that was needed, but Ryan agreed with Geoff. With nothing better to do, Ryan planned for payback. That started Ryan’s mission in terrorizing the chicken place to find out who called in Jack. When Ryan found out it was Harris, well Ryan had a good skill set in making people talk and then doing as he says.

Geoff wanted Ryan to terrorize the place into never betraying the crew again, but Ryan saw an opportunity. Ryan and the crew really like the greasy chicken and the place was close by, so Ryan decided to make the place under the crew’s control. The thought made Ryan feel smug at how great the idea was.

That prompted Ryan into kidnapping Harris for a few hours. Dress as the tall, dark Vagabond, Harris squealed and begged for his life quickly. The Vagabond skull mask and reputation makes everyone talk quickly and agree to the terms for their lives. That was who Ryan has become to the world, the grim reaper.

“Not just me,” said Ryan to Harris. Ryan could feel the man shaking and after the last few hours spent in torture, Ryan could smell his fear too. “Say the rest!”

“Uh-uh,” began Harris as he tried to find his voice. “Also, we are under the p-protection of the Kingpin of the Fake AH Crew, we now…s-ser-serve the Fakes food without the need of the… p-p-po-police knowing about them.”

Ryan laughed at how ridiculous Harris sounded, to everyone else it sounded like maniacal laughter from a psycho. Harris fumbled over his words as he addressed the frightened staff. Ryan stared out at all the employee’s faces, committing them to memory. Afterwards, Ryan had to watch everyone for the next few days to make sure none of them went to the cops about the new arrangement.

“The protection fee will be collected at the first of the month by one of the crew’s representatives, well, if you make it that long,” said Ryan in an icy low voice to tell all of them that he would be watching them. 

Ryan shoved the battered Harris into the restaurant, and then Ryan turned to leave the place. He hopped onto his black motorcycle to head home. Home. That word pierced Ryan’s thoughts almost like a dagger stabbing him physically. Ryan had joined the crew almost six years ago and while he and the crew had some rough patches, Ryan would say that he finally had made a home with the crew. They were not the family he wanted at first, but Ryan discovered over time that they were the family he needed.

Ryan pulled from his thoughts as he pulled into the underground garage. He parked his bike next to the others he had collected over the years and made his way towards the elevator. He slowly pulled off his mask to reveal his short sandy brown hair that was covered in a washable black gel. When the mask was off his hair would stick up in all directions. He patted the strands down with his gloved hands as he pushed the button for the top floor. 

Geoff bought the whole Eclipse Tower a few years ago. Everyone in the crew works out of and lives within the tower. Ryan thought the idea unrealistic at the time, but now he is thankful for the tower. Eclipse Tower has become Ryan’s home and a place where he doesn’t have to fear being seen without his mask. That tower was place of peace and family.

The elevator’s doors opened on the top floor to reveal an empty hall way that had two doors. The one to Ryan’s right would lead to the only stair case that went down the whole building and the other, across from him, would lead into the penthouse.  
The penthouse was where Geoff and Jack stayed. Ryan’s apartment was two floors down, but before he could get some sleep for the night, Ryan had to tell Geoff about their new restaurant. Ryan walked and opened the door to looked around the living room and found no one around, which was strange at that time of evening. Ryan looked out the wall of windows to his right and saw that the sky was dark, but Ryan knew that the sun had just set not too long ago.

Ryan headed towards Geoff’s office quietly, listening for the usual sounds of the Lads or Geoff, but everything was too quiet for Ryan’s liking. Ryan placed his hand on his gun and an ear to the door. What he heard made even Ryan turn a little red in the face. As quietly as he approached the door, Ryan left it and the penthouse all together. 

Ryan would tell Geoff in the morning when he wasn’t preoccupied with Jack about what happened on his mission. As Ryan stepped onto the elevator to go down to his floor, Ryan thoughts still were paranoid about where the Lads were. Pulling out his phone, Ryan sent a text to Jeremy just to give himself some peace and mind about where they were.

As Ryan stepped out of the elevator onto his floor he receive a notification from Jeremy telling him that he and the Lads were at the bar and that Ryan should come and be their Designated Driver. Ryan was at his apartment’s door and about to unlock it, when he read the text. With a grunt of annoyance, but a grin at the Lads antics, Ryan turned around to elevator for a third time that night.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Michael had spent the night partying and drinking with the Lads and then after Ryan came to save them from a wild ride home, Michael passed out in his bed with Lindsay. The morning after his fun, came pounding into his skull the moment Michael woke up. With a groan, Michael turned his head away from the blindly sun as he mentally curse the need for a sun on Earth.

“Oh, don’t you groan, you deserve a headache for making Ryan drag all your asses’ home last night by himself,” said the normally angelic sound, but at the moment loud voice of Lindsay Jones. Michael loved her with all his heart, but he wished for silence with his hungover head. “I can’t believe the three of you got so wasted without a DD plan! I am thankful Ryan had been nice enough to save you guys.”

“Hey! We did have a plan,” groaned Michael from bed with the covers over his head. “But after Jeremy got a text from Ryan saying that he would be our DD, we figured we could drink as much as we wanted until Ryan showed up. And then that bastard cowboy challenge Jeremy because he thought Jeremy was a cowboy for wearing his Stetson. Those two drank me and Gavin under the table and it pissed me off, so I kept at it until Ryan came for us.”

“Again, I am thankful that he did, you and Gavin were almost carried by Ryan and Jeremy into your apartments last night,” said Lindsay. Michael wasn’t looking at her, but he could picture clearly in his mind his wife standing next to the wall of windows with her hands on her hips and a fire in her green eyes. Her blue hair styled for the day and dress in clothes that made no sense to Michael, but look great on her. As the leader of the B-team she had to always be ready for anything, so even now in their apartment in the Eclipse Tower, she had at least a pistol in her belt. 

“Ugh, if I get a truck full of Diet Coke for Ryan, would you let me sleep peacefully?” asked Michael who wasn’t tried anymore, but figured more sleep would get rid of his headache.

“Yes,” said Lindsay as she closed the blinds and kissed her husband on the cheek. “Now, I am off to wake Gavin and Jeremy.”

“Don’t you mean, give them hell, like you did to me?” chuckled Michael.

“Waking up is hell for your three because you guys don’t plan well enough, that is not my problem,” said Lindsay with a smirk. “I just make sure justice is served in hell” 

Michael heard his wife’s laughter as it left their apartment. The two of them had been married for almost four years and never a day goes by that Michael loves Lindsay any less, but only more and more. Michael let out a sigh, closed his eyes, and dreamed about Lindsey.

***

Geoff was in his office alone taking another phone call. He was setting up a meeting with Rooster Teeth and Funhaus leaders. The three crews were in alliance with each other after years of fighting over turf, but Geoff convinced the other two crews that if they all worked together they could all run the city. For the past year, the alliance had been working and Geoff continues to make sure that it stays working.

Geoff heard a knock at his door, but ignored it for a moment as he finished the last of his dreadfully boring phone call. Geoff hated meetings, but he knew that they were needed. He was just thankful that he had Lindsay and the B-team, so he wouldn’t have as many meetings as he could have. Geoff hung up the phone and then heard another knock to his door.

Geoff knew that with two knocks that it was Ryan at his door. At the time of morning as it was, he knew none of B-team would be at his door, so only core members would seek him out. Of the core members that actually knock, that being Jeremy, Lindsay, and Ryan, only two would knock twice instead of just entering after the first. Geoff knew that Jeremy went drinking last night, so Geoff assumed that he was still sleeping the morning away. The problem Geoff then had was why would Ryan be knocking at his office door?

“Ryan, how many times do I have to tell you,” called out Geoff. This let Ryan know that he could come in, so Ryan enter the office at the sound of Geoff voice. “You can enter my office after the first knock. At least you do knock, unlike Gavin who just barges in.”

“Geoff, that would be impolite of me, plus I don’t want to walk in on something,” said Ryan with a knowing smirk to which made Geoff feel some heat to his cheeks. Geoff cleared his throat to hide the emotion as Ryan sat down in the chair opposite of Geoff’s desk.

Geoff took noticed that Ryan was all dressed in his leather jacket and Vagabond get up with his skull mask in one hand. Geoff was ever thankful for Ryan joining them many years ago, but even more thankful that Ryan feels comfortable enough and trusts them enough to show his face and a little of who he was under the mask. Ryan in his get up could be intimidating and threatening, but with black gelled hair slicked back on his head and only black make-up rings around the eyes, Ryan look like Ryan and not the Vagabond. 

"Anyway, what do I owe to this pleasure of your presence so early in the day?” asked Geoff to change the subject.

“You know that chicken place that called the blues on Jack?” asked Ryan taking the hint to stop teasing Geoff.

“Oh you better tell me that place is burned to the ground,” said Geoff with a happy glint to his eyes.

“Even better news,” said Ryan. Ryan explained to Geoff what he had done to Harris and how the store then became under their control. “I thought that this would be a better solution, now we can have all the fired chicken we want.”

“Smart evil fucker,” said Geoff with a smile. “You are going to keep an eye on this still? Until we are sure the incident doesn’t repeats.”

“Got it covered and next I was going down to the B-team to let them know to add another stop for collection day,” said Ryan as he got up to leave.

“Very good, ooh!” exclaimed Geoff. “I heard from Lindsay that you brought home the Lads last night, thank you Ryan. Also, spread the word, heist room at three today.”

“No need for thanks Geoff,” said Ryan. “And I’ll be there, don’t know about the Lads though.”

“They better be,” grumbled Geoff.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jack had entered the Heist Room before everyone else to make sure all the paper work was in the right places and set up for Geoff to use. She had worked hard all morning long to make sure that Geoff’s plans could come into reality. She was distracted and shifting papers when Geoff silently entered the room behind her. Geoff snuck up on her and grabbed her from behind, to which she didn’t even flinch. She had gotten use to Geoff’s antics a long time ago.

“Nice to see you too, Geoff,” said Jack as she looked over her shoulder at Geoff behind her.

“Can you at least pretend to be surprised?” asked Geoff as he tightened his hug around her.

“I was surprised, I didn’t hear you come in,” said Jack sincerely as she turned around to face Geoff. She placed her long gentle arms on his shoulders as Geoff put their foreheads together.

“Still didn’t react in anyway,” Geoff pouted at Jack with a grin spreading on his face.

Jack kissed him softly with a sweet gentleness that she would only show to the crew. The outside world saw her as the ruthless and cold-blooded, but she loved the man in front of her. She is loyal and almost motherly with the crew, but with Geoff she would always be his partner in every sense of the word.

“Will that make up for my actions, oh great Kingpin,” said Jack sarcastically. “Now, let go before the others show up.”

“Let them walk in, maybe it would teach them to knock before entering, like Ryan,” said Geoff as he just buried his head into her neck.

“What do you mean by Ryan?” asked Jack.

“Ryan came into my office this morning, quite early, to talk to me about that chicken place that tried to call the cops on you,” said Geoff.”

“Humm, and what did he have to say?” asked Jack.

“Ryan told me that he taken care of the place and even put them under our control for future safe trips for food,” said Geoff ending his sentence, but leaving something out with his voice, that Jack pick up on quickly.

“I feel like there is a ‘but’ to that statement,” said Jack.

“I think Ryan came by my office last night, before he went to get the Lads,” said Geoff quietly leaving Jack to understand what that meant.

“You think he heard us and decided to report to you this morning instead of last night,” stated Jack as she was able to easily understand what Geoff was thinking.

“Yeah…” Geoff let out a sigh as he thought about Ryan. “He didn’t come straight out and say it, but the look on his face made me think he knew. But, he didn’t seem like it bothered him and the others still haven’t at all come out and say anything negative about us, so I thought we could be a little more affectionate towards each other when the others are around. That way we could see how they might react because I still don’t know if they are really are okay with us or just pretending for our sake. I really want to show you off to the whole world to let everyone know how special you are, but I’m afraid that would put an even bigger target on your back and the crew might get bad feelings about us and– ”

Jack kissed Geoff again to get the man to stop rambling about nonsensical paranoid feelings. Jack knew that the crew accepted them and loved Geoff and her all the same as they have always. Geoff still has his doubts about the crew, Jack, and the world. Jack had always known of those doubts, but accepted that to be a Kingpin of an entire city, Geoff will always have paranoia and doubts. That said, at the end of the day, Geoff would always come crawling in to her bed cause that was where he felt the safest.

“Listen to me, Geoff,” said Jack softly. “Everything will be fine, and I wouldn’t mind showing my love for you more while were in front of the crew, but I am sure they don’t want to see us fucking in the heist room.”

“You better not be fucking in the heist room,” said the loud voice of Michael from the open door way. 

“Ah, what did we just walk in to?” asked Gavin who stood behind Michael.

Geoff jumped a mile high and away from Jack with a beat red face. Jack’s face was red as well, but she was laughing at the situation. Michael was laughing along with Jack as Gavin looked around at all of them confused.

“What’s so funny?” asked Gavin. As he and Michael enter the Heist room to sit down in their chairs.

“I’ll tell you when you are older,” said Michael with a pat to Gavin’s head.

“Ha Ha,” said Gavin as he fixed his brown hair after Michael ruined it. “Now, seriously, me and Michael didn’t hear much until the end bits, but what’s goin’ on with the two of ya.” Michael nodded his head to agree with Gavin.

“I was showing Geoff that no matter what his idiotic mind thinks up, I would still love him and so would the rest of the crew,” said Jack. “Am I right in telling him this?”

“Ooh Geoffrey!” exclaimed Gavin. Gavin jumped out of his chair to give Geoff a bear hug. This only made Geoff’s face turn from pink of embarrassment to red with rage.

“Fuck off Gavin!” yelled Geoff. At that point, Geoff was shoving and half heartily pushing Gavin away like someone would a small child.

“What’s Gavin doing?” asked Jeremy as he entered the room and sat down next to Michael. Jack noted that both Jeremy and Michael were dress in their work clothes. 

Jeremy was wearing a purple suit jacket with an orange under shirt that nowhere near compliments his yellow combat pants. His white Stenson hat and black fingerless gloves don’t help the outfit either. They all thought that out of everyone in the whole city, Jeremy was the one who lack fashion sense. Jeremy even had his hair, at least at that moment in time, dyed purple and orange which didn’t match his scruffy brown haired beard. 

Michael at least had some sense of what colors could go together, in Jack’s opinion. Michael with his rust color curly hair match well with his signature brown leather jacket with a snarling wolf head on the back with a pair of worn out jeans for pants. The two of them sitting next to each other was a sight to behold, but Jack has gotten over the shock long before then.

“Geoff was showing his human side and Gavin didn’t want to pass up on giving said human side a hug,” said Michael while watching the shenanigans.

“Ah, that’s Gavin for you,” said Jeremy as he took his seat at the table next to Michael.

“Come now, Gavin, sit down we have a meeting to start,” said Jack through her laughter.

“Rye-Bread’s not here yet,” exclaimed Gavin as he was pushed to the floor with Geoff on top of him. The two started a wrestling match. Tossing each other around to the others enjoyment.

“I am here,” said Ryan as he entered through the door closing it behind him. “So, get off of Geoff, so we can start the meeting. I got some news about the chicken place down the road.”

“You mean the place that called the pigs on Jack?” asked Michael. “You burned them to the ground, right.”

“That’s what I thought,” said Geoff as he got off the Gavin. Geoff stood up and fixed his shirt, leaving Gavin on the ground.

“Wot, not gonna help me up?” asked Gavin who was still on the ground.

“No, I have more important things to do,” said Geoff with a grin.

“Micoooo! Help!” whined Gavin with grabby hands towards Michael.

“Nah, you got yourself don there you can get yourself up,” snickered Michael. He then turned back to Ryan to asked, “So you didn’t burn it down?”

Gavin scoffed at his friend’s lack of empathy and stood up on his own to sit in his seat. By then, everyone, except Geoff, had taken their seats around the table. 

“I don’t understand why you had to do anything at all, I was fine and nothing happened,” said Jack as she looked through the papers on the table.

“They called the cops on you, that’s something,” said Jeremy with arms crossed. “It’s a shame though; I really like their Mega Chicken & Bacon Sandwich.”

“I like there food too, that’s why I didn’t burn the place,” said Ryan. Ryan stretch his arms behind his head for a second to slightly relax.

“Wot did you do?” asked Gavin who was twitching in his seat due to his endless supply of energy.

Ryan grinned and told the tale of the events of the day before. The Lads listen intently as Geoff and Jack smiled at the story. When Ryan spoke about the torture of Harris, Gavin got queasy and Jeremy laugh at how weak the guy was. By the end of the story, Michael complained that Ryan should have just burned the place and that he let them get off to easy.

“We like their food, Michael, what else was I to do?” asked Ryan sitting back in his chair.

“Burn the place! But I see where you’re coming from,” Michael caved in as he liked their food too. Michael crossed his arms after that and pouted out of spite.

“Alright, while that was a good story, there was a reason I called you all here,” said Geoff as he turned to the map of Achievement City behind him.

The City was located between the North West mountain range and the ocean to the south. A river flows through the city dividing it in half. The West side of the river was where the tourists went to gamble, drink, and play. Tall skyscrapers fill the area with the city’s hospital and police station located in the heart of it. The East side of the river was a different story. Most dubbed it the Slums and no one went there after dark for good legal reasons. The city was not the safest or best place to live, but the Fakes call it home.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A week after the meeting in the heist room, Geoff still had his doubts at the course of action to take with the Torres Gang. He sat in his office again taking phone calls as Jack entered the room. He ended his phone call abruptly after seeing the angry look on Jack’s face.

“What happen?” asked Geoff quickly standing as Jack started pacing around his office. Jack is a calm and collected person, for her to look and act anger something major happened.

“Torres happened!” shouted Jack as she turned from Geoff to stare out the windows. She was shaking with anger. Geoff was not happy hearing that name.

“Now what did they do?” asked Geoff as he walked over to join Jack by the windows.

“You remember Vinny Mazzi, the son to that small Italian Mob leader that gives us information,” said Jack with sigh. The exhale of air also released her angry to leave behind bitterness.

“That’s Nickolas’ kid, right?” asked Geoff who got a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach. He did not like where this was going.

“Yeah,” said Jack as she turned to be held in Geoff’s embrace. “Nickolas found his son at the police morgue this morning. The police found the kid in the gutter late last night. He was 17, Geoff!”

“Calm down, I have a heart, even if it’s stained black,” said Geoff as the death sat heavy in his stomach. He didn’t personally know the kid or the father, but he knew that the whole group were good enough people and loyal to the Fakes. They had been giving and selling information to them for years. “Can you tell me why that has made you angry at Torres?”

“Geoff, B-Team, on your orders, ask the Mazzi family to get more info on Torres and Echo,” said Jack who wasn’t looking at Geoff, but at the city. Geoff was able to connect the dots quickly.

“So, the kid’s dead because of me,” said Geoff dejectedly. “Do the Mazzi blame me?”

“Thankfully not, they did ask for retribution though,” said Jack as the weight of what Geoff said clicked. “Ooh, Geoff, I didn’t mean to make it sound like you’re the cause of the kid’s death. The Torres are to blame.” Jack leaned in to give a soft kiss to Geoff’s lips. Jack didn’t want this kid’s death to hang in Geoff’s eyes. Situations involving kids tend to make Geoff a little emotional and downhearted.

“I know Jack, but I feel responsible,” said Geoff as he pulled away first from the kiss. He looked down at Jack with love in his eyes as the dark and heavy feeling slowly fade away. Jack was the only person in the whole world who can so that to Geoff. “Because I feel responsible, I want to pay Mazzi double whenever we do business and now more than ever we have to deal with Torres.”

“That reminds me,” said Jack as she uncoiled out of Geoff arms. “Larry said he was going to e-mail you the file and police report about the body, said that it would be better to see for yourself and wouldn’t let me look until you saw it.” She started to walk over to Geoff’s desk with Geoff behind her. 

“What the hell does that mean? What is Shifty Larry thinking?” asked Geoff as he stopped in front of his desk as Jack sat down in Geoff’s chair to open the file. Geoff grabbed his now cold coffee to finish it before getting more. “Maybe we need to give the Mazzi a money check as well. They might not do business with us anymore now that we are responsible for the kid’s death. Even if they don’t blame us, we must look like scum in their eyes…” Geoff voice trailed off as he noticed Jack shaking again. She was also grinding her teeth. To Geoff, Jack look like one wrong word and she would explode in rage.

“Geoff, they’re dead,” said Jack in an icy calm tone that did not match her outer rage.

Geoff slowly walked around his desk to see what made his lover enraged. What he saw on his computer screen was a photo with a cleaned body lying on a metal table that could only be located in a morgue. The body had been wiped clean of blood which made the message all the more clearer. Etch into the torso of the dead body was a message:

'Echo is ours. You want Echo you pay. In money or blood.'

The message was clear. The Torres gang wasn’t going to give up their prized horse and they were willing to kill to keep them a secret.

“I have been patient, but now, Torres will pay in their blood,” said Geoff in a cold voice. They were an annoyance before, but Torres just found themselves on a short list of Geoff enemies. A list Geoff never writes down because his enemies don’t live long enough to stay on the list.

***

Ryan heard from Geoff the extent of what the Torres did to the kid informant. He even had Larry send him the file. Ryan to the outside world was a cold-blood psychopath with no heart for human life. The Vagabond maybe at times, but the real Ryan did have a heart, a big heart for the Fakes and also children. Ryan never liked hearing about children being kidnapped for human trafficking or being shot in the streets. So, to see a kid being used as a message made Ryan’s blood run cold with rage. 

A few days after word got around their base about the Mazzi’s kid, Geoff called another meeting in the heist room. Everyone showed up on time and unlike last time, there were no story telling or happy jokes. Everyone was grim and angry. 

“I will say this straight,” said Geoff standing by the head of the table. “I want Torres dead and out of my city, any complaints?” No one spoke a word. “Good, I worked out a plan. With the information we able to get, we know where they are located and close to how many are in the gang. I think it’s a three man job, who wants in?” Everyone raised their hand. “Who has the time right now to actually do the job?” Several crew members grumbled and lower their hands. “That leaves Ryan, Michael, and I than to take out these assholes.”

“Not fair, I actually hang out with guys from the Mazzi Mob,” grumbled Jeremy. “If I didn’t have to be undercover for that stupid insurance job, I would go and give them what for.” Jeremy pouted in his seat.

“Don’t worry, Jeremy,” said Ryan who had been very quiet the past few days. “Your Battle Buddy will show them no mercy on your behalf.”

“Good, I want the whole city to hear their screams,” said Jeremy glancing over to Geoff at the head of the table.

“Screams you will hear from here,” said Geoff in a cold voice. “Jack, I take it you can handle things for the day I’m out?”

“Of course, Geoff, if not then Lindsay could as well,” said Jack as she looked up at Geoff. “I think the day you pick for their funeral is the same day Gavin and I are going to that arms deal. Our shipment of ammo, guns, and tech come in then.”

“Oh, I forgot about that, think we need to switch the day?” asked Geoff as he was looking at Jack, but asked the room.

“Are you havin’ a laugh?” snickered Gavin. “Geoff, were good. Go take out the pricks that think they can live in our city.”

“Well said Gavin,” said Jack as she stood up and grabbed Geoff hand. “Geoff, you know how I feel about those assholes. Paint that house red for me?” The smile on Jack face as she said those last words had a slight creepiness to it that made some members of the crew shiver. Ryan couldn’t be more proud about the look, it match how he felt on the inside.

“Anytime,” said Geoff. “Ryan, Michael, let’s get the paintbrushes ready.”


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Across town at the Torres gang’s house, a small girl whimpered at the pain in her left leg. She thought the bone was broken with all the pain she felt. She couldn’t move it at all and knew that come tomorrow when asked to stand she won’t be able to. She sat whimpering not just as the pain she felt then, but also in fear of the pain she was to feel when He came back for her. 

The girl has lived the past few years in pain and relying on survival instincts alone. She had come to the reality that she wasn’t going to live much longer and accepted her fate. Her only wish was that she could see her mother again in heaven.

As the girl was nursing her leg to the best of her abilities, she felt more than heard a large explosion. The shock wave went through the basement that the girl resided in making everything on the shelves shake. This caused a few jars to fall off and break across the floor. Fear and confusion startled the girl which only made her whimper more as pain stabbed into her broken leg.

Gun shots rang out and the girl couldn’t tell how many people were shooting or at whom. She just hoped that the shots would either stop soon or have a stray bullet hit her to stop her pain. She never had been shot before, but she knew that a bullet to the head or heart could kill almost instantly. Maybe even painlessly, but she heard and seen the blood flow from a stray bullet wound as the victim dies slowly from blood loss. 

The girl knew she would die eventually, she just wished that with her death the pain would go away and she could see her mother again.

In the end, the bullets sounds die out and the girl was never hit by any bullets, the odds a bullet would hit her in the basement was slim to begin with. The girl didn’t know the outcome of the battle, but her thoughts were soon interrupted as the sound of a voice was heard in the basement.

“Found the Studio, no sign of the artist, Geoff,” spoke the deep voice. The girl had not heard that voice before. She did not know if that was a good or bad. New guys were hard for her to understand as they could all act differently. She could not predict what they might do. The words the guy said she did understand and that made her frighten.

He would beat her if she was not found. Escaping was not tolerated. Beatings and abuse would follow if the girl was thought missing. She thought the new guy would report to her abuser that she was gone and that frighten her more than any punishment for not staying quiet. The little girl gave a loud whimper to let the guy know she was there and not to tell anyone that she wasn’t.

“Wait, I heard something… I know Geoff, ETA two minutes… I got it… yes, dad,” spoke the voice of a one sided conversation. 

The girl couldn’t see the guy, so she didn’t know if the guy was speaking to someone she couldn’t hear or to someone on the phone. That was when footsteps got louder as someone came closer to her. A bright flashlight flashed right in her eyes blinding her.  
The girl knew she was shaking in fear. She hated not knowing what the new guys wanted of her. She hoped this one didn't want her to be his punching bag. She had enough of those guys. What she didn't expect was the quick intake of air and silence. She knew she looked bad, but it didn't bother the others, why this man.

“Geoff, we have a problem… No I am not leaving… Geoff, I found someone… Listen Geoff… All of you shut up… Geoff, leave without me, I’m going radio silent… Sorry, not enough time. You need to leave, I’m dealing with this problem, and you deal with the other. I'll call later, Sorry Battle Buddy,” spoke the voice. The girl could still only hear half the conversation and the man in front of her was getting louder and angrier by the end of it.

The girl shivered in fear. She did not know what she did wrong and not knowing only was making her feel worse. She wished she could see her mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-posted this chapter after a minor grammar fix. I realized that in this chapter I wrote down that the girl broke her right leg, but further on in the work her left. All fixed now. The girl was always intended to have her left leg broken. You will find out how and why later on. Thank you for reading thus far and I hope you enjoy going forwards. If at any point you spot a problem such as this anywhere else, let me know in the comments below. <3


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ryan was suited up for war. Guns, knives, tools, and ammo stored all over his body and in the bag on his back. He didn’t know what he was walking in to, so as a natural boy scout, he came prepare for everything. Geoff only laughed when he saw Ryan hop into the back of the armored SUV with full war get up on.

Ryan had a flare for theatrics, so he painted a full black and red skull onto his face with his black skull mask over it. With his all leather get-up and signature blue sleeved jacket, none won’t recognize him as the Vagabond. 

“This is Matt, testing, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3,” said Matt through coms as he would be there eyes and ears during this mission. “Do sound offs”

“This is Mogar, testing, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3,” said Michael as he got into the driver seat after checking the car was ready. Mogar was Michael’s code name.

“This is Geoff, testing, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3,” said Geoff as he got upfront with an assault rifle in his lap.

“This is Vagabond, testing, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3,” said Ryan has he sat in the back seat of the SUV switching into the Vagabond persona. “From now on codenames, except Geoff”

“Why can’t I pick a codename?” exclaimed Geoff. Michael only laughed as he started up the car. Over the radio Matt gave a sound of confirmation to Ryan’s order.

“First, the whole city knows you name, so a code name isn’t needed–” began Ryan only to be interrupted by Michael.

“And second, your code naming skills suck ass!” shouted Michael at Geoff while to keep his eyes on the road. Michael was actually going the speed limit as they didn’t want cops on their asses just yet.

“That too,” said Ryan to agree with Michael. He made a pointing gestured at Michael to show Geoff the point clearly.

“Both of you are dicks,” pouted Geoff as he crossed his arms.

***

Before long, the trio was down the street from their target. It was mid-evening just before the sun was to set. They were waiting for night fall and trying to get a feel of the place. Ryan thought the house looked like all the others surrounding it. If he didn’t know that the place was a gang house, he might have just thought that a simple party was going on at normal family’s home, as the front yard had six vehicles park neatly in a row. 

“Mogar, it’s almost time, pull the car up slowly,” ordered Geoff. Michael pulled the car up and park on the other side of the street of the house. A few lights were on, but no noise could be heard from within the house. “Vagabond, let’s get into position. Mogar, when I give the signal, tell them we’re here.” Michael grinned happily at the words.

Ryan and Geoff got out of the vehicle and headed towards the houses either side of the gang house. There was a tall wooden fence on either side of the front yard where Ryan and Geoff both hid behind. Geoff gave the signal and Michael wasted no time.  
Three grenades went off at once underneath the six vehicles causing a loud band and fire show for the whole neighborhood. People not involved locked up their doors and windows and hid deep in their houses. No one wanted to get involve with the events happening outside.

The Torres gang started to run out of the house in all directions and that gave Ryan and Geoff all clear shots to kill them all. It was a massacre for a few minutes, until the Torres wise up and started to shoot back. Before long, an all-out shoot out occurred and Michael gave cover fire as Ryan and Geoff started to slowly move in to clean house.

Geoff went into the back and Ryan went through the front. The two kill gang members until they met in the middle of the house covered in blood and bodies.

Geoff gave the signal for Ryan to go upstairs as Geoff gave a clean sweep of the first floor. Ryan did just that, not finding anybody upstairs, but he did fine an office of sorts and called Geoff up after he gave the all clear.

By the time Geoff met up with Ryan, Ryan had got the safe behind the office desk open thanks to the note on top that had the password on it. Geoff walked in just as the safe was opening to reveal cash and papers. Geoff whistled at the sight.

“Got an empty bag in your back-pack?” asked Geoff. Ryan nodded as he pulled it out and handed one foldable bag to Geoff and one for himself. “Good thinking boy scout, take everything from the safe, I going to see if anything is interesting in the cabinets.”

“What you find?” asked Michael from outside.

“Not Echo, sadly. Unless the guy’s mixed in with the guys that were shooting at us, but that doesn’t seem likely,” said Geoff over comms. “We did find a safe full of money and documents. How much you think, V?”

“Around ten grand, maybe more,” answered Ryan as his bag was nearly full with money and papers that looked to be contacts and addresses. “The docs have contacts and addresses on them, B-Team would like them.”

“Yes, we would,” chimed in Matt. “Just got the cops signal, someone notified the police, I’ll give an estimate when I figure out how they’re going to deal with this.”

“Good, V and I are almost done here,” said Geoff as he finished packing his own bag full of papers from the desk and cabinets. “Going have to call it there then, the artist must not take up shop here, there’s no art studio here anyway. Must be keeping him somewhere else. Matt, when we get back, that is B-Team’s next order is to find this low-life. He started this whole mess to begin with.”

“Got it boss, Echo will be our top priority,” said Matt with soft keyboard clicking sounds in the background.

“Alright, V, lets head out of here,” said Geoff. As he hefted his bag over his back and started for the door.

“Matt, ETA on pigs?” asked Ryan as he stood up from the safe.

“Just got the numbers,” said Matt. “Blues, ETA in nine minutes and counting.”

“Geoff, take this bag and head for the car, I’m doing one last sweep to make sure we didn’t miss nothing,” said Ryan as he gave Geoff the bag at the door.

“You got four minutes, be quick you paranoid dick,” said Geoff as he took both bags over his shoulders and headed down the stairs and out the front door.

“That rhymed well Geoff,” laughed Michael who had pulled the car up close to the front yard to get the getaway easier.

“Shut up, asshole!” shouted Geoff at Michael antics. 

While Geoff, Michael, and even Matt, bickered and joked at each other, Ryan made a thorough sweep of everything and found a door in one of the side rooms on the first floor that had stairs behind it that lead to what Ryan assumed was the basement.

“Geoff, there's a basement” said Ryan as he grabbed a flash light from his bag and stood against the wall next to the stairs.

“Shit, can you check it quickly or do you need me to swing back?” asked Geoff just as he sat down in the SUV.

“Nah, I got it. Stay with the car. Matt, how much time till cops show?” asked Ryan as he watch and listen for movement down the stairs.

“ETA seven minutes, I say you got three minutes V,” said Matt over comms as loud clicking could be heard. “I’m trying to slow them down by rerouting traffic and changing traffic lights, but you guys might want to leave quickly.”

“You heard Matt, two minutes until we leave,” said Michael as the car engine roared in the background.

Ryan had his assault rifle around his shoulder as he got out his pistol and flashlight out and faced forward. He descended the stair case slowly listening for movement. The basement was dark, but dim light pass through the high windows from the street lights outside. Not seeing anyone right away, Ryan switch on his flashlight to get a better look around the room.

The basement smelled terrible to Ryan. Mildew and sewage mixed with what Ryan could only think was the smell of turpentine and paint. Ryan was scanning the art studio that he could only guess belonged to Echo, but why would such a high paying forger work in such awful conditions.

Paintings and art in different levels completion were all over the basement. Jars and cans of paints were all over the floors, shelves, and tables. Ryan concluded that the explosion from earlier must have knock the paint onto the floor.

Ryan saw that other than art supplies, the only furniture in the basement was a recliner chair next the bottom of the stairs, a desk on the far wall for a computer set up with the screen still turn on, and a filthy mattress on the floor next to the desk. There was no visible sign of life in the basement.

“Found the Studio, No sign of the artist, Geoff,” said Ryan, still looking around the room to make sure there really wasn’t anyone.

“The fucker really got away, then?” asked Michael after hearing a loud bang as if Michael slammed his hand on something in anger.

“Probably heard the shots and book it out the back, before you guys could get in” said Matt.

“Well, at least, the gang is no more. Let's get out of here–”said Geoff just as a Ryan heard a soft whimper coming from the far corner of the basement on the same wall of the stairs. There was a sheet of plywood standing tall as if trying to hide something on the other side of it from view of the stairs.

“Wait, I heard something,” interrupted Ryan as he held his flashlight up and slowly started to move closer to the wood.

“If its Echo, make it quick, if it’s any of the gang, kill them, but be fast were running out of time, V,” said Geoff as some worry slipped into his voice.

“I know Geoff, ETA two Minutes,” said Ryan as he got even closer to the plywood to see something metal on the other side.

“One minute, cops are coming, V,” said Matt who wasn’t hiding the worry and panic in his voice.

“I got it,” said Ryan as he got around the corner of the plywood and saw maybe the corner of a dog kennel. 

“And be careful!” exclaimed Geoff who had almost enough of the delay.

“Yes, dad,” said Ryan sarcastically just as he caught the sight of a bloody foot in the dog kennel. Geoff pouts and Michael laughs at Ryan’s comment, but Ryan doesn’t hear them. He’s frozen at the sight in the large dog kennel.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As Ryan got closer to the dog kennel, he heard soft whimpers, but didn’t think too much on them, that were until he saw the small girl locked in the dog kennel. Ryan had only two things in life that got him emotional, danger to those he loved and abuse to children.

When Ryan took the job that night he was expecting and was ready for a lot of things. His hated his nickname boy scout, even if he was prepared for anything like one. The content of that dog kennel, however, was not something Ryan was prepared for.

What he found instead left him stunned and speechless, something that has rarely ever happened to him. He stared at the small girl in a large dog kennel covered from head to toe in filth of all kinds. Blood, paint, grime, and other boldly fluids that Ryan wanted to ignore for the moment. The girl was wearing a tatter shirt that was ten sizes to big making it look like a dress. The shirt too was covered in all kinds of stains. The girl looked small with no fat or muscle under her skin. Ryan could clearly see bones under the skin and even the broken bones in one of her leg. She was shacking like a leaf, covered in bruises and cuts in varies degree of healing.

Air fought in Ryan’s throat as he stared at the girls dead blue eyes. She was breathing, but he could tell by looking in her eyes that her soul was ripped out of her. Ryan tended to not let his emotions control his actions. Actually he kept a tight lid on his emotions. Ryan had a cold heart and an indifference attitude towards the general public, but seeing the little girl in the cage, made the little box of emotions he lock away inside his head explode. 

Ryan felt rage to the gang that did that and sympathy and pity towards the girl in front of him. Later when ask, he would say that he had a lapse of judgment and his emotions took over for a second at what he did next for the girl. Ryan’s head went into over drive as he stared at the girl. Afraid that if he turned away that she would die, he kept his light on her as he talked to Geoff.

“Geoff, we have a problem–” said Ryan as he looked at the kennel to figure out the best course in opening it without it falling on the girl.

“Yeah, V, the cops are going faster than I thought, you need to leave!” said Matt frantically.

“No, I am not leaving!” said Ryan as the thought of leaving the girl brought intense anger out of Ryan.

“Yes, you are, I'm the driver and I’m leaving, so you better get here now!” said Michael angrily.

“Whatever the problem, leave it!” ordered Geoff. “I see blue and red in the distance, we got to go now!”

“Geoff, I found someone–” said Ryan trying to convey that couldn’t leave the girl behind.

“Leave them, we need to go now!” shouted Geoff who was two seconds ready to run into the house to grabbed Ryan himself.

“Listen Geoff!” said Ryan as he tried a third time to explain the girl.

Some static came loud on the radio as a distance voice with gunshots in the background screamed into the comms for all to hear.

“Anyone on? I got a problem!” said the new voice of Jeremy. A distance explosion could also be heard on his end.

“Shit, Jeremy, Why are you on this line? What happen?” asked Michael in a rushed.

“Deal went south. My cover blown. In a shootout now,” exclaimed Jeremy taking breaks in between sentences to shoot back. Screams and alarms were going off in the background. “I could use an extraction right about now.”

“Geoff, Jack and Gavin are on the other side of town, B-Team is at base, you guys are the closest to Jeremy.” said Matt as he went back to quickly clicking at his keyboard.

There was arguing back and forth as the sounds of sirens, screaming, and gunshots were in the background. Ryan tried to stay calm in tense situations, but his emotions weren’t helping him at that moment. That caused Ryan to make a split decision, the most insane choice he had ever made.

“All of you shut up!” screamed Ryan so everyone could hear him.

“Fuck you, V!” shouted back Michael.

“V, what the fuck don't you get about were leavening now!” exclaimed Geoff as he notice Ryan was yet to get in the car.

“Geoff, leave without me, I'm going radio silent,” said Ryan. The replies afterwards had Ryan’s eyes ringing at the sheer volume.

“Don't you fucking dare!” shouted Geoff. “You are to get your ass up those steps and into this car now, or so help me god, I’ll shoot your ass and drag you up myself.”

“Sorry, not enough time. You need to leave, I’m dealing with this problem, and you deal with the other. I'll call later, Sorry Battle Buddy,” said Ryan as he heard everyone scream at him again as he took out his ear piece.

The cage had two padlocks, but Ryan, always prepared, pulled out a pair of bolt cutters from his back-pack. The girl jumped at the sound of the padlocks hitting the floor. She curled in herself, as much as one could with a broken leg, hiding from Ryan.  
With a few more cuts, Ryan pulled the cage apart so it wouldn’t fall on the girl. With the cage gone, the girl was then exposed to him without any barriers. Ryan was not deterred from the smell or filth of the girl. Ryan wanted to save the girl, but he didn’t know how about doing that.

The girl was whimpering and shaking with her hands over her eyes and face. Ryan knew he was press for time, but he took things slow. He knelt down to her and spoke quietly as he could. He was afraid of scaring her to death. With how she looked, that could be possibility.

“Hey, I'm here to help, but to do that I need to touch you. Is that okay?” asked Ryan calmly and slowly. The girl whimpered softer, as if she was trying to keep herself quiet in the presence of Ryan. Her shaking scared Ryan as he didn’t know if it was from fear or her body going into shock. Ryan jumped when he heard a small quiet as air voice. In the silent basement in was like a bomb went off.

“Kill me, please,” said the girl as she hid her face from Ryan. Those three little words shattered Ryan’s soul, something he though he lost a long time ago.

Ryan’s mind was racing, the cops were getting closer, Geoff and Michael hopefully left without him, and here was a small girl, asking him to kill her. His hand was still on his pistol. A split second, something that could only be counted in the time it takes to blink, Ryan thought about the request. For a weak moment, he honestly thought that might be the best thing for both of them, but then that second was over and reality kicked him in the ass. If Ryan went back to base to report that he kill an innocent and abuse girl, he would not live through the night. Geoff would have his head on a pole for the whole city to see.

Ryan looked down at the sad girl in so much pain and it reminded him of pains from his past. Ryan quickly put a stop to that line of thinking, he had to focus. Ryan needed to figure out how to fix this problem. The cops were coming and he couldn’t leave her to them, everyone knew how corrupt the city cops were. Ryan didn't know what they would actually do to her and was not going to find out. No, Ryan knew he had to be play hero and save her. Afterwards, when Geoff calms down and the crew saves Jeremy, Geoff would know what to do with her, if not, Jack definitely will. 

With a sense of knowing that he could save the girl, Ryan made the plan to get them both out safe. The biggest problems at that moment were the approaching cops and the injuries of the girl. He remembered the garage upstairs had a car in it that didn’t get blown up. All Ryan had to do was get them both to that car and then they could go to one of his hideouts. With a plan he took off his jacket and slowly laid it over the girl. 

The girl froze completely when the jacket touched her, yet Ryan could still feel her holding back her trembles. Ryan tried again at talking with her.

“I'm going to pick you up and carry you out of here,” said Ryan gently. “The cops are coming, but you won't have goods odds with them. If you let me help you, I promise nothing will harm you again. I will personally make sure of it, but I need you to nod your head, so I know you can hear me and understand, can you do that?” asked Ryan quickly as he could hear sirens now outside of the house. 

Ryan saw the girl nod her head as soon as he asked her too. He didn't think on it too much then, his mind was racing on other things, like the cops, his crew, and the promises he just made without thinking. 

At the nod, Ryan picked the girl up bridal style. She weighed nothing in his arms. His assault rifle was on his back and his pistol stay in his hand for safety. He swore at her state, but she took it as him swearing at her, which made her tear up and shake horribly some more.

“Shhhh, don't cry,” said Ryan quickly. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I really need you to be quiet until we get to the car. Can you do that?” Ryan flub out, he was nervous and trying to be gentle and kind towards her, but not quite sure if he was doing it right. He was trying to remember all the times Jack took care of crew. The girl nodded her head quickly at his command.

Ryan heard the sirens loud and clear outside and knew that he had to get them out, now!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ryan took the stairs two at a time while keeping the girl securely in his arms. At the top of the stairs he saw flashes of red and blue outside the house through the windows. The sirens were loud and clear enough to tell the difference between fire and police departments. Ryan thought that he was royally screwed, but didn’t hesitate. He left the office keeping silent and to the shadows just in case the police were already inside. 

Ryan thanked the universe that he got to the garage without incident and there was a black Vysser Neo sports car, untouched by the explosion, sitting there for him. Ryan looked around to see if by some miracle the keys were just hanging on the wall, but Ryan’s luck had run dry. He placed a wooden chair he did find under the door that he came into just in case the cops walked in.

With little else he can do, Ryan hefted the girl onto one shoulder to smash the passenger door window. The car alarm goes off and Ryan then realized he was in deep water if he didn’t get moving. Quickly, Ryan buckled the girl into the seat and rushed to the other side to hot wire the car. In the distance, Ryan started to hear shouting over the car’s alarm.

With quick skill from tons experience, Ryan was able to get the car started. Ryan situated in the driver’s seat, just as the door to the garage that lead to the house was banged into. Ryan was glad he thought to place the chair under the door to block it.  
Ryan wasted no more time by stepping on the gas pedal. As the pedal hit the floor, the car went from zero to 60 in the short distance from the back of the garage and into the garage door. The door splintered outward to give way for the more powerful car.   
Outside the house, Ryan had a better understanding at what he was up against. The street was full of cops, two firetrucks, and few ambulances. None could stop the Vagabond, though. Ryan plowed through people, vehicles, and blockade alike to get distance between him and the madness that was behind him. Police and quickly choppers chase after him as Ryan started down streets until he got to the highway. 

Shots broke the back window, which raise some panic in Ryan. He’s been on a team or with the crew for so long, that he forgot what it was like to be out solo. Ryan took a glance at the girl next to him. The girl’s eyes were closed and she looked limp in the seat. The sight almost caused them to crash. Ryan kept swerving between cars and bullets alike, but started to think of where he needed to go to be safe, and the only thought was away from where he was at that moment.

Ryan needed to get the girl to a doctor or at least some place safe so Ryan could access the damage to her, but where? Ryan’s brain finally gave him the answer of a little cabin in the forest near the mountains. 

With a plan of action, Ryan started to lose the police at greater pace. He turned off the highway heading north on backstreets that twisted and turned with nature. Hours after taking turns too tight and almost hitting like a dozen trees, Ryan finally managed to lose the last of the police.

Ryan eased up on the gas and started to drive at a more safe level. He turned to the girl and saw that she was breathing, but still look unconscious. Ryan didn’t like it at all.

“Hey, Kid!” shouted Ryan at the girl. The girl didn’t even twitch. Ryan tried a few more shouts, but got nothing. He knew he was close to the cabin, but he just hoped that he wasn’t too late.

***

By the time the car pulled in to the small parking area in front of the cabin the moon had raised high in the sky. Ryan left the car running as he ran to get the girl out of the car. Leaving his back-pack and assault rifle in the car, Ryan grabbed the girl again bridle style with a pistol in his side holster. He went up the steps of the double floor log cabin. The key was stashed above the door frame and Ryan had to move the girl in his arms to get it. 

Once inside Ryan went upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms and laid the girl gently on the bed. Ryan saw that she was still breathing, but it was rough and wheezy. Ryan went into the hall bathroom to get the first aid kit, a bucket of water, and wash cloth. He dropped everything off on the side table next to the bed the girl was lying on. 

First thing Ryan did was grabbed his knife and tore open the rags of a shirt the girl was wearing. He noticed earlier the girl hadn’t had any under clothes. While Ryan was the Vagabond and had done a lot of questionable things, never would he do anything indecent to any woman or man. He would kill the Torres gang for what they did to her if he could. Sadly, he already killed them all, not slow enough in Ryan’s opinion.

After the shirt was gone, Ryan dipped the wash cloth into the water to wash the girl to see how much damage was fresh and what was old. He did not speak as his silent rage for what the Torres did to the poor girl festered under his skin. The girl was covered in scars that Ryan believed came from the tearing of skin from rings or brass knuckles after being hit hard enough to scar. Bruises that looked to be from months to hours old covered her as well. Plus he was damned sure that her left leg had two broken bones twisted inside. 

Ryan got the girl cleaned and then went to work on patching up the few spots where she was bleeding and wrapping almost her whole body in gauze and wraps as Ryan also thought that one of the girl’s ribs was either cracked or at the very least bruised.   
After Ryan knew that he did all he could he tucked the girl into the blankets. Ryan check to make sure that the girl wouldn’t die with his back turned, before he left the room. He needed to find the girl some clothes and a splint for her leg. The splint was easy as Ryan found a baseball bat in the hall closet, but clothes were a little harder. After searching two more bedrooms, Ryan went down stairs to check the garage storage and was in luck. Ryan carried the bat, t-shirt, and sweatpants back up the stairs. The clothes would be huge on her, but something was better than nothing. 

Back in the room where Ryan left the girl, he pulled back the covers and dressed the girl. After the girl was clothed, Ryan placed the baseball bat next to the girl’s leg. With the last of the medical wraps, Ryan wrapped the leg and bat together to not cause further damage. Ryan gave the girl another once over and slowly left the room, keeping the door opened so he can listen for any distress. 

Ryan let out a giant long sigh. He had been running on adrenaline for a while now and his body is finally catching up. He slid down to the floor next to the girl’s open door. Ryan felt exhausted, mentally and physically, but he knew he wasn’t done yet. He needed to call Geoff to find out if they got to Jeremy and that he was safe. So with a plan of talk to Geoff, shower, and then bed, Ryan stood up gave one last look at the girl and carried out his plan.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Geoff wasn’t upset, wasn’t mad, he was furious and maybe a little bit worried. Geoff could not believe the balls of Ryan for what he did. After Ryan declared that he wanted Geoff and Michael to leave without him and that he was going radio silent, Geoff was going to run back into the building to drag the prick out himself, but the police showed up. Geoff had to trust that Ryan was going to be okay and not get caught or worse, die. 

Michael complained about Ryan the whole way to, though, and even after they both saved Jeremy. It wasn’t that bad as the comms were making it seemed. Jeremy got enough away from the shoot out that Michael just pulled up alongside of him and they all drove away, none the wiser. 

When three got back to the base, Gavin and Jack were there to meet them. On the ride over Geoff called Jack to fill her in on Ryan’s stunt. No one was happy at Ryan and they were all very worried. They decided to all sit in the penthouse together waiting for either B-Team to trace Ryan’s phone, which was next to impossible, or for Ryan to call Geoff.

“It was a simple job, we were even done with it!” yelled Geoff as he punch the wall out of frustration. Jack was by his side in seconds, rubbing his back to calm him down, but Geoff was having none of it. His nerves were fried and his worry was only getting worse. “I swear that asshole better have the excuse of the lifetime when he calls, or I will find him just to bury him six feet under.”

“We get that you’re upset, but I don’t want to pay for the wall to be fix again,” said Jack as the voice of calm reason. “We are all worried. If Ryan went silent then something important happen.”

“But I thought we were past the whole I do everything myself,” shouted Michael from the couch with his hands in the air. “He’s been so good about being open the past few years–”

“That’s why I said something important,” interrupted Jack. She gave a sigh to keep herself calm. “We know Ryan doesn’t like doing solo jobs anymore, he trusts us, and so we have to trust him. Don’t you guys trust him?” The soft murmurs of yeahs were heard around the room.

“I can still be furious at him,” mumbled Geoff. Geoff went to the dining room to sit down. He rubbed his temples and thought about the whole mission. 

Geoff thought the mission was going well, but he left Ryan to do his final sweep. Geoff should have done it with him, but it’s too late to go down that road. Geoff just had to give faith that the bastard would actually call him that night. Speak of the devil and it shall, well, call. Geoff picked up his phone at the sound of the familiar ring that he uses for the core crew only. 

“You better be safe and not bleeding to death in a ditch somewhere!” yelled Geoff in to his phone. The whole crew perked up at the phone and Geoff talking. They all silently crowded around him. “Or so help me god I will kill you myself.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you Geoff,” said Ryan through the phone. Geoff didn’t hear any background noise and Ryan sounded fine, but Geoff didn’t know if it was an act. “Is Jeremy alive, did you guys save him?”

“I wasn’t worry, I was pissed beyond belief,” said Geoff as he sat back down in the dining chair. “And yes, no thanks to you, but Jeremy’s safe and has no injuries. Now, tell me, where are you?”

“At the cabin in woods,” said Ryan.

“How the fuck did you get there?” exclaimed Geoff who then mouthed cabin to Jack. Jack’s eyebrows rose at the answer in disbelief.

“Long story short, police chased me here,” said Ryan quickly. Geoff knew that he would be getting the full story out of Ryan in the morning. “Look, I know you’re pissed at me and I disobeyed you, I am sorry. I can’t explain everything right now, I am about to drop dead on my feet, metaphorically, not literally. Physically I am perfectly fine…” Ryan’s voice trailed off at the end.

“Mentally, Ryan?” said Geoff at the worry looks of the crew.

“I have a new mental scar, Geoff,” said Ryan in broken voice that had Geoff worried double so. 

“Fuck! Don’t you dare do anything stupid,” said Geoff as he stood from the table. “I’m coming, Jack and I will be there by morning, and you better be there and alive when we do. I want you to promise me Ryan!”

“I promise to be alive and here when you are Geoff,” said Ryan a little stronger than before.

“Good, do you need me to bring you anything?” asked Geoff as he started for the door.

“Yeah, fresh clothes, food, and some Diet Coke, please,” asked Ryan with a soft sigh at the end.

“Alright, I hear ya,” said Geoff as he made his way to the door. “I will see you in the morning and I will hear a full story when I do.”

“No problem boss, goodnight,” said Ryan sounding like the world was heavy on his shoulders.

“Night, Ryan,” said Geoff as he hung up his phone. He was next to the elevators by the time he ended the call. He turned around and the whole crew was still following him. “No.” that one word started a chorus of complaints and pleading from the Lads. “I said no. We have all had a long day. You three go to bed and take care of this place for me and Jack tomorrow. I don’t expect us to be back until tomorrow night. The drive up to the Cabin is a long one, especially when we have to take it slow too not alert cops. That was an order by the way.”

The three Lads looked upset at the order, but they couldn’t go against Geoff. All five of them slumped into the elevator to go down to their rooms to sleep for the rest of the night or, in Geoff and Jack’s case, get down to the garage to go pick up their sixth member up from the mountains.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After Ryan hung up the phone with Geoff, he went outside to turn off the sports car and grab his bag and gun. Ryan went back to the garage storage to grab some spare clothes for himself, before heading back up the stairs. Ryan deposited the bag, gun, and clothes in the master bedroom before looking for some towels for a shower.

After Ryan was cleaned and in new clothes he went to check on the girl again, he still wore his mask, not sure if he should take it off or not in front of the girl. Ryan knew the girl could do him no harm, but no one could ever be too safe. The worst that could happen is that he scares the girl more, but it better that way then revealing his face to her.

The girl’s breathing was getting more even, but still wheezy. Ryan couldn’t give her anything for the pain until she woke up, so he left her to get something to drink in the kitchen before bed.

There were only water bottles and a very old carton of eggs in the fridge. Ryan grabbed a bottle and ignored the eggs and their smell. With the house locked up and secured, Ryan went up the stairs to the bed that was calling his name.

***

A few hours later, after what Ryan thought could have been only like ten minutes worth of sleep, he heard a feminine scream. He bolted to the girl’s room, thankful he went to sleep with his mask on, to not waste time. The girl was on the floor sobbing and holding her broken leg. Ryan slowly approached the girl on the floor. She noticed him right away and froze completely.

“Hey, Kid, I’m not going hurt you,” said Ryan in what he hoped was a soothing voice. “Let me help you up, and back to the bed, can I do that?” The girl gave a soft whimper at the word bed, but made no other sound or movement to answer Ryan. “Kid, come on, you have to work with me here, please, acknowledge me, let me know your still with me.” 

The girl rolled to face Ryan from the floor. Ryan gasped at the hollow and soulless blue eyes. Those eyes were scary familiar to him. They looked like his eyes before he joined the fakes or after…

Ryan shook his head to keep the negative thoughts away. He crouched down to the floor a little closer to the girl. He had to get the girl out of her head and to the real world. 

“Kid, please, give me a sign that your still alive, talk to me,” pleaded Ryan with sorrow in his eyes. Ryan wonders if he was too late in saving the girl.

“Kill me, please,” said the girl again. Ryan felt a shiver go down his spine at the soft raspy voice from the small girl.

“Kid, you can’t ask me that, after I just save you from hell,” said Ryan as he took another step closer to the girl. The girl started to tremble, so Ryan took a step back. “Why don’t you live and try a piece of heaven first before you die?” Ryan didn’t know what he was saying anymore. He was never the comfort guy. He was never good with emotions. Ryan just hoped that Jack would get there soon and help. Ryan had full faith that Geoff and Jack would know what to do about the girl.

“Please, water,” rasped the girl with her eyes closed. Her whole body was tense as if she was expecting an impact at the words. Ryan’s festering rage turned ten degrees colder at the thought that the girl was beaten when she asked for water, probably food too.  
“No problem, but I can’t leave to get water with you on the floor,” said Ryan as he took a step closer to the girl. The girl started to tremble again. Ryan was at a loss at what to do. 

“Okay,” rasped the girl keeping her eyes closed. Now with permission, Ryan slowly crawled over to the girl and picked her up bridal style, being mindful of the leg. The girl wheezed and trembled the whole minute she was in Ryan’s arms. Ryan tucked her back into bed, before taking a few steps back and crouching again so their eyes were at the same level.

“I need you to stay in this bed, alright,” said Ryan with a soft, but firm voice. “I don’t want you to injure your leg anymore. Do you understand?” 

“Yes, master,” said the girl on instinct. The words were foul to Ryan’s ears.

“No,” said Ryan roughly. The girl flinched and started crying again. “Ah sorry, I mean, please don’t call me that. I am no one’s master, call me James, please, please don’t cry.” The girl’s body was trembling and she was still crying. Ryan couldn’t stand it. He crawled back over to the girl and placed his masked face on to the bed next to the girl. “Please don’t cry. I don’t know what to do with your tears. I’m going to go get you some medicine and water, Okay? I’m going to help you. I’ll make the pain go away, I promised didn’t I?” Ryan lifted his head to look at the girl. She was staring at him with tear stains down her cheeks, her eyes the same soulless shade as Ryan’s. “No more harm will come to you from now on, I personally will guarantee it. I’m going to take the pain away, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. I show you that this hole you’re stuck in isn’t the end of your life. With a helping hand you can crawl out of it. You just have to grab it.”

The girl wasn’t crying as bad as before, but tears still fell from her face as her body tremble in the blanket. Ryan could feel the whole bed shake with the girl trembles, but he was staring at her eyes looking for some life. Hoping that the girl had at least some small spark left alive in her.

“Okay,” came the quiet as air word from the girl’s lips. Ryan couldn’t find what he was looking for in the girl’s eyes, but would take the word as something.

“Alright, then,” said Ryan as he backed up to stand up. “I’m going to get that water and meds, stay here, and I will be right back.” With one finally look and a slight nod from the girl, Ryan left.

***

The girl lay motionless on a bed under the covers for the first time in years. She thought about the strange man that left to get her water and medicine as he claimed. He had a black skull masked that vaguely looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember from where. She lay there thinking how strange the man was acting.

The girl knew she wasn’t with Torres at the moment. She doesn’t know if at any moment one of the members would just walked right in and scream at her for being in a bed. She wasn’t allowed to be in a bed, but that man had ordered her to do so. She couldn’t go against a direct order or she would be punished.

She started to tremble in fear of the punishment He was going to give when she got back with Torres. She was frightened of the leader of Torres. The leader of Torres was her number one abuser and she would never forget it. But the thoughts fade away as she thought about the skull masked man.

Even if the man was lying, even if it was just an act, the girl hoped beyond hope that what he said was true. She let herself for a moment believe that the dream she was having was real. She was going to enjoy the dream, however long it lasted.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sun was just breaking over the horizon when Jack pulled into the small parking lot in front of the cabin. She noticed the banged up red sports car and parked next to it. Jack went to nudge Geoff awake, but the man was already opening the car door to get out.

Jack exited the car and looked up towards the cabin and spotted the front door opening to reveal a perfectly fine Ryan wearing his masked. Jack found it odd, but didn’t say anything as she and Geoff walked up to him. Geoff immediately went to punch Ryan in the gut, but Ryan dodged quickly evading the blow, but missed when Geoff gave him a bear hug.

“I swear, you pull that shit again, I really will kill you,” said Geoff as he let go of Ryan to let the man breathe. “Now start explaining.”

“Okay, first, call me James for now, and second…” Ryan’s voice trailed off as he looked to the ground. Jack was piecing it together in her head at what happen, but she wanted the full story as well. “Ah, well, come on I will show you. It will be easier after you see, just be quiet she’s finally sleeping.”

Geoff actually to Jack’s amusement froze at the mention of She. Jack clapped him on the back to get him moving to follow Ryan into the cabin. She turned around to get the clothes, food, and Diet coke out of the car.

Jack carried the items into the cabin’s kitchen, thinking that Geoff could handle who ever Ryan pick up from the Torres house. She meant to put the Diet Coke in the fridge when she saw and smelled the eggs. She grumbled before placing the soda inside and grabbing the eggs. She just tossed them out the back door, when she heard her name softy from Geoff. Jack left everything and went to Geoff who was at the bottom of the stairs. His face looked haunted and angry at the sometime.

“Jack, I need your advice on the problem Ryan just dumped on to my lap,” said Geoff as he sat down on the bottom step. Jack got worried fast and looked up the stairs in Ryan’s direction, but didn’t see him or the problem. She sat down next to him and grabbed one of his hands. “Thank you.” Geoff said with smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Ryan found a small girl, beaten and bruised in a dog cage. Of all the things that were going on, I just, never thought…” Geoff squeezed Jack hand as his voice trailed off. “Ryan said he personally promised the girl safety and that he would make her pain go away. But the idiot doesn’t know how to do that so gave the problem to me.” Geoff let out another sigh and leaned into Jack for support. “What am I to do?”

“Let’s start by finding out who is this girl,” said Jack with tight voice trying to not let her emotions show. Geoff nodded before standing up. He arched his back and a loud crack sound was heard.

“Alright, I can work with that,” said Geoff as he snapped back into boss mode. “Jack, I am going to make a few calls to B-Team. I got a picture and a name for the girl; I’ll send it their way to see if they could find something. Could you talk to Ryan and get him to eat something and then maybe sleep. The guy looks bad. I told you what he said on the phone that he had a new mental scar and its showing. Get him to talk, please.” Jack stood and gave Geoff a tight hug that he gave just as tight back.

“Sure thing Geoff,” said Jack into Geoff’s chest. “I’ll get that idiot to spill his guts, and then full on food, before I get him to at least think of sleep.” Geoff kissed her temple before letting go and stepping outside.

Jack watched him go before letting out a big sigh. Geoff and she have had a no children policy since the beginning. Don’t touch, harm, and especially don’t kill any child. That was one of the unwritten rules the Fakes made for the city. Children were off limits and anyone in Achievement City caught breaking it were killed either by the Fakes or anyone who saw it cause they didn’t want to be killed by proxy. Geoff made it clear, a long time ago, how much blood he would spill to clean the city of anyone hurting children.

That said, when Jack entered the room that she found Ryan and a small girl sleeping on a bed, she couldn’t believe that someone in the city dared to harm a child. More so, that it was a gang, a gang the Fakes have paid services for in the past. Jack felt disgusted with Torres, the world, and herself. The girl had been abused under their noses and they hadn’t done anything, well, until now. Jack saw why now Ryan did what he did. If Jack saw the girl beaten in a dog kennel, she too would do something crazy to save the child. Ryan saw Jack enter and stood from the floor next to the girl’s bed. He gestured to the door and followed Jack back out of the room.

“I see why now, but I still want to hear the whole story at some point,” said Jack in a quiet voice to not disturb the girl sleeping. Jack noticed that Ryan didn’t close the door and kept half his body facing the girl. Jack could see the worry in Ryan’s tense body. Jack wanted to know what was happening in Ryan’s head and not just at that moment, but also when he found the girl. “But for now. James, I want you to go down stairs and eat the food I brought, don’t worry I will stay and watch over her. She won’t die in the ten minutes you eat. Geoff ordered that you do so.” Ryan slumped at Jack’s words. Jack has only seen Ryan act this worried about crew members, so it came to a shock that he was acting such away for the unknown girl.

“Please, stay with her, but if she wakes be gentle,” said Ryan after a minute. “She doesn’t like touching of any kind or closeness. Also, don’t let her call you master. Give her a fake name or something, but she can’t think that we own her. She so fragile, I…just…please…” Ryan voice broke towards the end, which broke Jack’s heart. Jack didn’t know how the girl won so much affection and worry from the least trusting and most paranoid man on the planet, but Jack could clearly see that Ryan cared about what happens with the girl. Jack gave Ryan a tight hug.

“I promise James,” said Jack firmly. “Now, food. Warm it up in the microwave and I put a whole case of Diet Coke in the fridge.” They both let go of each other as Ryan turned to go.  
“Thanks Jack, you know exactly what I needed,” said Ryan as he went for the stairs to get his food.

Jack entered the room and walked up towards the girl looking over the girl’s face. She had a healing black eye and sullen cheeks, tear stains ran down under puffy swollen eyes. The girl had short brown hair that was matted and filthy. Jack couldn’t stand to look at the girl. She turned away and lean her head against the wall. She looked to be no older than 15 at the most and such small skinny body that tells Jack the years of abuse the girl had to endure to look like that.

Jack quickly turned back at the girl to find that she was awake and staring wide eyed at Jack. Her eyes were the final nail in the coffin and the bow that tied everything together. Jack’s memory flash back six years ago to first day she met Ryan. The girl eyes look identical to the eyes of Ryan from back then, deep soulless blue eyes. Jack gave a warm smile to the girl, but that cause her to start to tremble. Jack’s smile began to fade at the sight.

“Oh Honey, don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you,” said Jack softly. At Jack’s words the girl began to cry. The sight almost made Jack cry. “I’m going to approach you, is that alright?” The girl gave a soft nod of her head. Jack walked and sat on the edge of the bed by the girl’s feet. The girl never let Jack out of her sight and didn’t move a muscle until Jack sat down. When Jack sat down the girl gave a soft whimper that added another crack to Jack’s shattering heart. Jack couldn’t stand seeing broken children. “Can you speak? Or is that asking too much of you?”

“I speak,” rasped out the girl as she stared at Jack with all the caution of a hurt animal that is cornered and doesn’t have anywhere to go. 

“That’s good,” said Jack as she gave the girl another warm smile. “My name is Jack, can I have yours?”

“Morgan, master,” rasped the girl quietly. The girl finally looked away from Jack to stare up at the ceiling. 

“Uh uh, I was told to not let you call me that,” said Jack a little firmly. The girl still lets the tears fall and her body trembles, but Jack makes sure to catch her eyes when she spoke. The girl looked down from the ceiling to stare at Jack again. “Call me Jack or ma’am, instead please, Morgan.” The girl nodded quickly to Jack’s request. Jack could clearly see the mental abuse in the girl short few words. “Do you have a last name, Morgan?”

“No more, ma’am,” said the girl as she shook her head. Jack didn’t know if that meant no more questions or that she didn’t have a last name anymore, but Jack didn’t want to push the girl, so gave up questions for the moment.

That was when Ryan showed up and shocked Jack even more then she thought possible for that day.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ryan devoured the two bacon cheeseburgers quickly with a can of Diet Coke for each. He was worry about the girl. She was so afraid and fragile that Ryan couldn’t understand how to deal with his own emotions towards the girl. His mind was telling him to be cautious and not to get attached as she wouldn’t be around long, but his heart was screaming louder than his head. He felt like protecting her and to kill everyone who ever thought of hurting her. The festering freezing rage under his skin didn’t have an outlet at the moment, so other emotions were coming to the surface. Ryan did not do well with emotions.

After cleaning up, Ryan went back up the stairs and heard Jack talking to Morgan. She gave her name to Ryan earlier after he gave her water to drink. They had talk, or better said, Ryan talk to Morgan with her speaking a few words. Ryan doesn’t know much about her, but he told her a few stories about a few heists he done with the Lads, nothing major that was secret, just something to fill the silence between the two. The girl had drifted off to sleep during one of the stories. Ryan stayed by her side on the floor next to the bed until he heard Jack and Geoff pull up. He couldn’t fall back to sleep in fear the girl would try to get out of bed again when he wasn’t looking.

Hearing Jack talking made Ryan rush up the stairs a little feaster while keeping quiet. When he entered the room he sat down on the ground just inside the room. Morgan’s eyes darted from Jack to him quickly. She froze for a second before trembling again. Ryan took note that Jack was sitting on the edge of Morgan’s bed, but Ryan kept his eyes locked with Morgan.

“Can I approach, Kid?” asked Ryan softly. Ryan had done this routine earlier as well when he got the water. He had to show the girl that it was her choice in how he acted, that she wasn’t their slave or whatever she thought of herself. 

Ryan stayed on the ground at eye level with the girl until she nodded at him. Ryan could see the shocked expression on Jack’s face at his actions, but did not comment on it. Ryan stood slowly and took a few steps forward where he was half way between the door and the bed, before sitting back down on the ground.

“Is this too close?” asked Ryan softly. Ryan was watching the girl’s body movements. Morgan, Ryan had come to realized, spoke better with actions than with words. How she came to that, he has yet to learn, but he wanted to know how Morgan got to such a state in her life.

Morgan shook her head slightly, but kept her eyes directly on Ryan. Ryan noticed then that Morgan had not once looked at Jack since he had entered the room. Ryan wanted to know if that was because Ryan was approaching her, or because he was a scary man and Jack, as a feminine figure, didn’t scare her as much. He wanted to know because Jack was sitting on the bed, when Ryan tried that before the girl was sobbing and whimpering until he sat on the floor, but Jack could sit there all she wanted and the girl was fine. Ryan could understand if the girl was sacred of him, everyone was, but he was slowly feeling like he didn’t want the girl to be scared of him.

Ryan stood again from the floor and very slowly sat down on the floor by the edge of the bed. Jack had kept quiet during the whole exchange. Ryan gave up trying to figure out what she thought of his behavior, he would explain to her later everything and then maybe she could help him, but at that moment Ryan was more worried about Morgan. Ryan was still watching her face and body for major changes in her behavior, but other than the few tears and trembles, the girl hadn’t change with him sitting near her on the floor.

“Silence,” rasped Morgan in a very small timid voice that couldn’t be any louder than air.

“Sorry, Kid,” said Ryan quickly. Ryan also learned from earlier, before he told the girl stories, that Morgan didn’t like silence. “Jack, she doesn’t like silence. I know you have a million questions for me, so while we wait on Geoff, ask away.” Jack let out a sigh before looking from the girl to Ryan.

“Let’s start with some simple ones,” said Jack as concern was prominent in her eyes. “How much sleep have you gotten in the last 24 hours?”

“I woke up yesterday morning around six o’clock after getting almost six hours of sleep,” started Ryan as he finally turned away from Morgan to look at the floor. “Work all day yesterday, then the attack on Torres, then the car chase here, then after getting Morgan all patched up I called Geoff.”

“That was four-thirty this morning,” commented Jack with stern eyes as if she knew Ryan hadn’t slept much and wanted weasel him to speak the truth.

“Yeah, four something,” said Ryan sheepishly. “After the call, I took a shower and went to bed, and I swear I wanted to sleep, but it escaped me for time. Maybe I got some sleep; maybe I didn’t, but before long this Kid had fallen out bed screaming. Jack her leg is broken so she can’t move much. So I gave her some water a told her a few stories, before long she fell asleep. I thought that she would move in her sleep again, so I stay in here to make sure she stayed on the bed–”

“So, you haven’t slept is what your telling me,” said Jack in a scary firm mother voice she used when someone she cared about wasn’t taken care of themselves. Ryan knew the voice well as he tended to hear it more than less. Morgan jerked and whimpered at the voice though. That gave Ryan a slight panic at what triggered her and how to help, but Jack was quick on it. “Oh, Honey, I didn’t mean to scare you, this idiot here needs a firm hand to remember that the human body needs sleep to function right. Don’t worry, none of us will ever harm you.”

Ryan watch as the whimpers slowed down quicker at Jack’s words. Ryan watched and memorized so he could repeat it later if need be. The major thing Ryan has come to know since meeting Morgan was that he lacked emotional skills to deal with people. He kind of knew that already about himself, but just thought that he didn’t need those skills. He wished he learned a little before now.

***

Geoff ended his call with Lindsay. What he learned about the girl didn’t make him feel any better. The girl’s name was on the graduation list from five years prior. Geoff thought the girl was a child, but she was actually a young adult. Geoff couldn’t comprehend the ways the girl had to suffer for her to appear like a child. 

Geoff was good at making plans and being leader when in dire straits where quick decisions saved lives, but where he was at that moment through him for a loop. If the girl had family, Geoff would just bring her home, but the paper work said her mother died when she was young and the father was a dead end. She didn’t have any other relatives that existed in the city for that matter.

That left him with the issue of what he was going to do with her. If no one would claim her, all Geoff needed to do was turn her into a ghost and set her up somewhere safe. Find her some place to live, get her a job and his hands were clean. That would be the simple way to deal with the situation. Ryan saved the girl from that hell hole, what more did Geoff have to do.

That nagging voice in the back of Geoff mind was louder than his criminal mind to just leave the girl somewhere. Geoff felt bad that he gave Ryan a hard time at the Torres House. He felt bad that he also left the house without her. Geoff gave a big sigh as he looked out towards the rising sun.

Geoff was not a good man. He had blood on his hands and a body count in the hundreds. Geoff’s own heart was stained black from all the sin he committed, but it was still a heart. Something the city he lived in lacked. Geoff turned back towards the house to go get some answers to the problem at hand. Maybe, he thought, if he just talked to the girl he could figure out what to do with her.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Morgan laid on the bed as silent as she could while listening to the two criminals talk. She finally got a grasped at what was going on. The masked guy, James, saved her from the Torres gang and the red haired woman, Jack, was his superior of some kind. I remember earlier there was another man James called Geoff. Geoff was the name of the guy James was talking to in the basement. Morgan pieced together that Geoff was a superior as well, but could also be the leader, she couldn’t tell at the time while her eyes were closed.

Morgan learned that being quiet and unseen got her less punishment, so she mastered the art of fake sleeping. It seemed that even the masked guy was fooled by her action. Morgan didn’t understand what the guy wanted of her. Every guy she met in recent years seemed to only want one thing from her. James though didn’t seem interest in her though; he even kept calling her ‘Kid.’ Morgan didn’t know what she needed to do to not get punished. 

Morgan shook from her thoughts when she heard someone walking up the stairs. She froze in fear when a tall man with tattoo arms and a curly mustached entered the room. She knew who that man was. The Torres gang, she knew, made money off of her skills in art and forging. The number one buyer was the Kingpin that ran the city, Geoff Ramsay.

Morgan didn’t make a sound or moved a single muscle. She learned from the grumbles and snippets of conversation from the gang that Torres and the Fake AH Crew were not on happy grounds. Morgan suddenly knew why she was there. They had taken her to work for them instead of going through Torres. The endless possibilities of what was going to happen to her flash through her mind. Most of them were not pleasant at all. The unknown of what to come scared her more than being in a cage in the basement. There she knew what to expect, but here she did not.

“What’s wrong Kid?” asked the gruff voice of the masked man. Morgan did not know who to be more afraid of, James, who was sitting close to her or the Kingpin, who was on the other side of the room. Not letting her eyes drift from the Kingpin seemed to answer James question for her. “That’s just Geoff. I promise he won’t hurt you. I told you, I would not let anything harm you again. That was my personal promise to you. I don’t break those kinds of promises.”

Morgan slowly let her eyes far off of the Kingpin and onto the masked man. She really wanted to believe what he said. She really hoped that there was light in her hell, but no matter how hard Morgan tried she was just waiting for everything to come crashing down around her like life always tended to do to her. This one last time though. This last time, Morgan will give hope a chance. She gave a small nod to the masked man to let him know she heard him.

“R-er-James, come with me as second,” said the Kingpin before walking out of the room. Morgan watch as James gave her one last look before getting up to following after the Kingpin. Morgan was left alone with the woman, Jack, again. 

Morgan was still untrusting and frightful of the red-headed woman, but felt slightly safer with her than with any man. Morgan knew men wanted things of her, woman did not. At least no woman that Morgan had met wanted anything of her. Jack seemed kind to Morgan and that made her remember her mother. Tears fell from her cheeks from remembering her mother. Even after so many years it was hard on Morgan to think about her.

“Is it true you don’t like silence?” asked Jack softly. Morgan could see a wide array of emotions in the woman’s eyes. Morgan only nodded to answer Jack. It was true. Silences made Morgan nervous and relive memories she didn’t want to remember. When people are talking it was easier for her to tell what that person wanted of her. “Do you not want to talk though?” Morgan shook her head lightly. If Morgan talked she could say something wrong and get punished. “Then do you want to hear a story?” Morgan gave a small nod. She liked stories a lot, her mother used to tell stories for hours on end. Some of those stories had helped her get through her hell the past few years. “Very well then, I shall regale you a story of a time from long ago…”

Morgan stayed quiet and listened to Jack’s story without interruption. Morgan decided that just maybe she could give hope one last try.

***

Ryan followed Geoff down the stairs silently and all the way into the kitchen where the two sat down on the stools at the counter. Ryan was nervous being away from the girl. Possibilities that were highly irrational popped into his head and Ryan knew they couldn’t happen, but the thoughts were still there. Ryan honestly thought his mind had gotten its final scar and he tipped over into insanity. Ryan had to be insane for how he was acting about the girl.

“She has your eyes,” stated Geoff bluntly after they had sat down. That statement jarred Ryan in many ways. He didn’t know how to take it. Ryan did notice that the girl’s eyes were scary similar to his own, but that statement made it sound like the two shared more than just eye color.

“Geoff!” exclaimed Ryan. The absurdity of his statement made any actual words not possible for Ryan.

“Well, you’re acting like her father and the eyes,” said Geoff with a sigh. “It’s hard to think she isn’t you flesh and blood.” Ryan really didn’t know what to say to that. 

Was he acting like a father towards the girl? He didn’t know his father well, and the only other father figure he had known was Geoff. Ryan was thinking about how worry Geoff got over the Lads, the crew, and himself. How Geoff made promises to keep them all together and safe. Geoff always asking if any of them were okay or that they were safe. Ryan’s mind seemed too clicked together the more he thought about it. Somehow Ryan developed a father like worry for the girl in the short time he known her. That thought terrified him like no other.

“Geoff, I…” Ryan’s voice trailed off as he just didn’t know what to say at the new revelation in his head.

“It’s scary, right?” asked Geoff with an amused smile. “Now you understand how I feel when you go radio silent with cops on the way. The worry and fear that rolled together with the millions of possibilities that could go wrong. Yeah, that feeling doesn’t go away, but only gets stronger.”

“Stronger!?” yelled Ryan. He was already panicky from being a hundred feet away from the girl. The feeling he was having was only going to get stronger?

“Well, it would only get stronger if we keep the girl,” said Geoff as he turned to look out the window into the woods. Keep? That was when Ryan remembered that he was a criminal, a murderer, the Vagabond. He couldn’t look after the girl. Ryan would have to break his promise to Morgan. That thought seemed to hurt him. “And that was where out true problem lies. What to do with Morganne May Conwell, age 22, no records of any kind after graduating from high school five years ago.” Ryan froze at the knowledge.  
“She’s an adult?” asked Ryan quickly with shock on his face. Geoff wouldn’t even need to see the shock; Ryan made that very clear with his tone of voice. Ryan turned to look out the windows as well.

Ryan really couldn’t believe the small girl that was beaten and bruised was actually a legal adult. The girl couldn’t be any taller than Jeremy and was nothing but skin and bones. The news that she wasn’t a child made Ryan even angrier at the people that hurt her.

“Yeah, I was shocked too,” said Geoff as he ran his hands through his hair. “The other problem was it seems she doesn’t have any living relatives in the city. And now that I see how invested you are in the girl, I can’t in good conscience just set her up somewhere and forget.” Forget? Ryan knew he would never forget the image of the girl in a dog kennel in that basement.

“Geoff, I don’t think I can,” squeaked Ryan. His exhaustion and emotions have finally hit the end point for him. Ryan didn’t want to forget Morgan. He wanted to see her smile and come out of the hell that she was living in. “Geoff, the first words, that Kid told me when I found her were ‘Kill me, please.’ For a small weak moment Geoff, a fleeting second, I thought about it. I actually thought that killing the Kid would make her happy…”

“But,” said Geoff, after a moment of silence. Ryan turned from the window to face Geoff and noticed that the man had his arms crossed and was watching him intently.

“But, then I remember what you told me from long ago,” said Ryan with a sigh. He rubbed his eyes through the masked. “You said, ‘Hell is better faced together and not alone,’ and if I could come out of hell with some of my soul again, then maybe she could too. She just can’t do it alone.” The two men were silent for another moment as they both let the words sink in to their heads. Ryan really wanted to help Morgan. Ditching her somewhere, even if they set her up for life, wasn’t what he wanted for her.

“Well, then you made up your mind didn’t you?” asked Geoff with a smile. Ryan was confused at where Geoff was going. “She is now under our protection, until she says otherwise. So, I say we take her to get properly patch up and get her leg in a cast. After it sinks into her head that we mean her no harm, we can talk to her about what she wants to do with her life. That sound like a better plan?”

That sounded perfect for Ryan, he just hoped that was what was best for Morgan.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After their talk, Ryan went back upstairs, while Geoff went about making phone calls to B-Team to get the medical team ready to treat Morgan. Geoff explained most of Morgan’s injuries after Ryan said what he already did to treat her and thought what was wrong with her. Geoff was still a very paranoid man, so didn’t want to bring the girl to his home until he was absolutely sure she wasn’t some kind of spy. It wasn’t like he actually thought the poor girl was one, but never too safe to be extra careful. Geoff wanted to get her patch up properly and then ask her questions to find out why she was in that gang’s house to begin with.

That was what confused Geoff the most, the reasons behind how a seemly normal high school graduate, who was one of top in her class, was in a criminal gang. The options Geoff could think of were not pretty and he rather not think about them until he heard the whole story.

With his phone calls done, Geoff went back up the stairs to the sounds of quiet voices from the room the girl was staying in. Geoff stood by the door and didn’t enter any further. Geoff noticed that the girl’s eyes went straight to him. She wouldn’t look him right in the face and instead stared at Geoff general direction marking where he was in the room.

Geoff still was shock by the uncanny likeness to Ryan’s eyes. Not often you find such a vibrant blue dulled by years of abuse, soulless and detached from the waking moment, almost like a cornered hurt animal. That was how Geoff describes them at least. Ryan eyes had gotten brighter and less empty over the years, so to see it again and on such a poor girl, made Geoff’s black heart hurt. Something he thought his heart couldn’t feel anymore.

Jack was telling a story from her military pilot days before she got herself into crime. Geoff heard that particular story before, but why Jack was telling Morgan the story at that moment confused Geoff. The story came to an end before Geoff piped in.

“Hey, it’s time to head back,” said Geoff looking at Ryan and Jack. Geoff tried to keep his eyes off the girl. “Med Team is setting up a small shop just for her in the closest safe house to here. We’re heading there now, the girl needs a real cast on that leg.” Geoff saw both crew members give him nod with their heads before he left to get the car started.

Not before long, the Cabin was closed up. Jack came out with Ryan’s Boy Scout bag and assault rifle, Geoff recognized seeing the night before. Ryan came out after Jack with the girl wrapped in a blanket and in his arms. Geoff opened the trunk for Jack and the backseat for Ryan.

Ryan sat Morgan gentle in and buckled her up before going around the car to sit in the back with the girl. Jack closed the trunk and jump in the passenger seat as Geoff hopped into the driver’s seat. Thus, the four of them left the cabin and headed back towards the city.

***

After a long, quiet car ride that was only filled by sounds from the radio. The four passengers arrived at a small building on a strip of shops that line the street on the edge of the city. The bottom floor of the building was a store front that sold clothes legally and drugs illegally. The top floor of the building, which could be access from the outside, was one of the many safe houses around the city for the Fake AH Crew. 

Geoff pulled into the small alleyway next to the shop to get around back where a parking lot was. There was a white, unmarked van already in the parking lot, open for Geoff to see Jarren, the crew’s head doctor, inside grabbing supplies. The van looked mostly empty, so Geoff assumed that the impromptu medical center was all set up upstairs. Geoff parked the car on the other side of the van, that way he was closer to the building.

The three crew members exited the car, but all went in different directions. Ryan grabbed the girl in the back seat and carried her inside. Jack went around the building to go into the store front, probably to explain to the owner what was going on, thought Geoff. As for Geoff, he went to Jarren to see if he needed any help and to fill him in more on the situation. Jarren was exiting the back of the van as Geoff approached.

“Hey, Jarren,” called out Geoff as he walked closer. “I wanted to remind you that Vagabond is here. Any code names you might hear any of us say, forget you heard them. Or you know what the Vagabond could do.” Geoff spoke in a cheering voice that if you weren’t paying attention to the words you might think he was being friendly. Geoff threats seemed to pack a bigger punch when told in such a way to members of the crew who didn’t know who Ryan was. Geoff didn’t want to be threatening, but he was the leader so some fear was necessary.

“I understand well, Geoff,” said Jarren with a sigh. He held a large duffel bag over his shoulder as he spoke. Geoff and Jarren went around closing up the van as they spoke. “Should I be using whatever code name he is using with the patient, or should I call him Vagabond?” Jarren had been with the crew for a couple of years by then, so knew quite well how the Vagabond worked. Jarren had once told Geoff in private that Jarren doesn’t quite fear the Vagabond anymore, but rather respect the man for his inability to show pain. Jarren was loyal to the crew and has proven so, many times. That was why Geoff made him the lead doctor of their medical team.

“I don’t know how much the girl knows about us, but Vagabond is going under the code name James at the moment,” said Geoff as the two made their way towards the stairs that lead to the upper floor. “Still, I think he would be weirded out if you called him anything other than V. So stick to the letter and I think we all would be good.” Jarren nodded in understanding.

***

Ryan carried Morgan up the stairs and into the building’s upper floor. The room he entered first looked like a nice living room with a couple couches and flat screen hung up on the wall. There was a small kitchenette and breakfast nook attached to the living room with a hallway that branch off further into the apartment. Ryan, not knowing where the doc attended to treat Morgan, set the girl down on one of the couches. Ryan took note that the couch was an off brown color that matched the browns and tans of the apartment too well. Brown on brown on tan really was not a good color combo, thought Ryan, but he was not a fashionable person to begin with. He was just glad it was a very neutral palette and not blinding like Jeremy’s heist outfit.

“Please, sir, water,” rasped the girl quietly. Ryan was standing next to where he sat Morgan down accessing the room when he heard her voice. Ryan looked down at the girl to find her trembling again with her eyes closed. Her whole body seemed tense as if preparing for a hit. A hit that Ryan would never let come to the girl.

“Of course, Kid,” said Ryan gently. Ryan walked around the couch and into the kitchenette that share the brown theme with the living room. As he searched for a glass Ryan spoke to Morgan over his shoulder. “I’m glad you are not calling me master, but I’m really not a ‘sir’ kind of guy either, but I will compromise with you.” Ryan found a small glass in one of the cupboards and used it to get water from the sink. “You’re lucky, I don’t compromise often.” Ryan said with a small chuckle as he brought the glass of water to Morgan.

As Ryan handed over the small glass for the girl to drink, he sat on the ground in front of the couch near Morgan. Ryan watch as the girl took small sips, as if savoring each sip as if it was to be her last. Ryan wanted to help the girl more, but realized that the person he kept referring to as a ‘girl’ really wasn’t. Legally Morgan was an adult, but her small and fragile nature made Ryan see only a small defenseless child that needed to be protected.

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU!
> 
> I hope you are enjoying the story. This is my first time posting a story for the world to see and I hope that if you made it this far that you would leave a comment to let me know what you thought.


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